Consumer group grades lawmakers for votes on insurance issues

A consumer advocacy group has released a report grading lawmakers
for how they voted on property insurance issues last year.

The annual report card from Policyholders of Florida gives lawmakers ratings based on their votes on several controversial bills that could have pushed insurance rates higher for homeowners.

In the 40-member Senate—seven lawmakers received and ‘A,’
and 11 received an ‘F.’

In the 12-member House, 35 lawmakers received an ‘A’ and 63
received an ‘F.’

“Consumers don’t find out who their friends
are during campaigns, they find out during legislative session,” said Sean Shaw,
founder of Policyholders of Florida. “We track important insurance votes
throughout the year so Floridians can see whether or not their lawmakers went
to Tallahassee to
fight for them or not – clearly many lawmakers are failing. We need lawmakers
to focus on stabilizing the market for consumers and encouraging the
responsible expansion of the private market in Florida.”